Stomp! - Making Music From The Mundane

Stomp has been going for so long now it's almost a household name. In fact, it's been 20 years now since its original inception in 1991. Originally a piece of street theatre performed in the seaside town of Brighton, Stomp quickly became so much more and was an instant smash success. Touring worldwide, Stomp swiftly gained critical acclaim and won many awards as people across the world recognised the magnificence of its simplicity. And that is why Stomp has been so successful - because it is simple. In short, Stomp does something which had never been done in theatres before. It turned everyday objects into musical instruments. It turned movements into rhythmic sounds and combined the two into an extraordinary musical extravaganza which breaks through cultural and language barriers and captures the imagination and interest of audiences across the world.
The brilliance of Stomp lies in its simplicity. Because there is no plot and no script it can easily be enjoyed by any audience, of any age from any country. There is no confusing story or plot to worry about, the audience can just sit back and enjoy the precisely choreographed performance.
It's a fun-packed, lively show, performed by an enthusiastic energetic cast who never seem to falter. Where they do, it's used as a clever joke to entertain and engage the audience.
Stomp probably boasts the widest range of props ever used in a stage performance, yet they are remarkably simple and insignificant. Everyday items are turned into musical instruments - including bins lids, plastic containers, brooms, plungers and even the odd kitchen sink. The secret to Stomp lies in the name. The cast bang, crash, thump and stomp their way around the stage, creating a magnificent musical experience which everyone can enjoy and appreciate. The show opens the audience's eyes and ears to the world around them - seeing simple everyday household items being turned into musical instruments gives you a different outlook. The sound and movement is fantastic and the climactic scene has a gladiatorial edge to it as dustbin lids as smashed together in what feels like war of the dustbin men.
The magic of Stomp is undeniable. Despite its age, it is still a breath of fresh air, even for modern theatre. It is a change from the norm and a welcome one at that. You cannot but help being impressed by the masterful talent of the cast as they stomp, wosh, brush and crash their way about the stage. Its wonderful simplicity is also its genius.
Stomp has to be seen to be appreciated, but the fact that it has since spawned a US show, several tours worldwide, DVDs, Blu-rays and various television adverts speaks volumes.

Salsa Lesson DVD - Mind Tricks To Perfect Your Confidence

Do you want to know all the hidden secrets that the professionals keep to themselves? Do you want to know how to perform and be as confident as the stars are? Well here it is I am going to tell you all of our deepest darkest secrets to make you a star. I will unleash tools you can use to help you perform just like the pro's do and all you have to do is just keep on reading.
First let me start off by saying that professionals are talented dancers, but their are many tricks that get them to look and dance the way they do. Have you ever wondered why professional dancers are so confident? Well I have and I found out a little secret. First of all, They don't practice their routines with their body every time. What? Yes the professionals are taught to not only practice their routines with their body's but also with their minds.
You see dance is not only physical, it is a mental art as well. When you dance you must make sure that you really know the dance your going to perform. So one way a pro memorizes their routine is by doing the dance over and over in their head. So lets say you want to try this. First you should play the music you are dancing to. Then you should sit down and go over every step in your head as if you were dancing. After write down where you got stuck,write down where you forgot a move, write down everything! By doing this you will know where you messed up in your dance and then you can fix it, which will get you to dance perfect every time.
It's so simple but it really works because the mind is such a powerful tool and if you use it right you can be on your way to dancing just like the pro's do.
Now on to the next hidden secret. This one should be used after you have mastered my first trick I wrote about. I hope your ready for this. Well here it goes you should always record yourself dancing before a performance. This is so important because you can really see what you look like and where you can improve on. No one is perfect so I can guarantee that you will find something that you can make better. Even if it is pointing a foot, or smiling more. Their is always something you can do to make your performance the best it can be.

These are just so of the many hidden secrets that I have that can really get you to dance just like the pro's do. If you want to find out more tricks that I know that will blow your mind just go to learning2dancesalsa.com and I'll even tell you about the best Salsa Lesson DVD that's out right now!

A Christmas Meal and Theatre Experience for Two

An evening spent in London's magical West End is always special, but even more so at the most festive time of the year.
London's Christmas lights are exceptional and most definitely well worth a visit. The spectacular array of colours really does light up the streets during the most grey, bleak winter months in the UK. Christmas in London just wouldn't be the same without the beautiful festive lights adorning the streets bringing no end of Christmas sparkles to the usually dull streets.
Some of the most unusual lights in London are set up in and around Covent Garden creating a deliciously festive look. Red Letter Days have created a uniquely special evening of festive dining and cultural entertainment; combine this with a snowy winter evening Christmas shopping in the West End beneath the glow of the Christmas lights.
Your Yuletide theatre experience will begin with a delicious two-course meal at either Chez Gerard, Dial or Creation. All of these high-quality eateries are within walking distance of the West End's theatres so very little additional travel will be required once you are already in London.
Then follows the true magic of London's West End - an evening performance of one of the top shows currently available. Choices include the star-studded, jazz-packed Chicago; the Queen rock spectacular We Will Rock You; the heartwarming tale of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers; the historical 39 Steps; toe-tapping percussion with Stomp; the ghostly tale of The Woman in Black or the brilliant Michael Jackson-themed show Thriller. All of these spectacular shows have received rave reviews and will perfect the ultimate Christmas theatre experience.
Since this is a particularly special time of year, why not combine your theatre experience with a trip to London's Christmas centerpiece? The enormous Christmas tree is set up in Trafalgar Square every year and draws in thousands of spectators. This tree is selected by Norwegian foresters who describe it fondly as the 'Queen of the Forest' before it is shipped carefully over to the UK. The beautiful tree is decorated in traditional Norwegian style with vertical strings of lights which are officially switched on during the official tree lighting ceremony. If you time your theatre trip carefully there is every chance you will get to see this fantastic display.
This wonderful Christmas gift experience is guaranteed to put even the most stubborn Scrooges in a festive mood. Choose a top West End show for Christmas and share in some Yule tide entertainment with your family or friends.

Using ISDN in Your Voice Over Home Recording Studio

Will ISDN enhance your voice over job opportunities?
The latest trend in voice overs is to have your own home studio. This allows you to work from home and to accept work from anyone in the world. Often the scripts are sent to you via email and you interpret the script, record it, and return the finished files to the client. However this process requires that you fully understand the requirements of your client so that you can direct your own performance. But what if the clients wants to listen in and direct you as you record? This adds another layer of complexity to your studio setup so you can supply this capability with your studio gear. This need can be met with an ISDN connection.
The grandaddy of remote monitoring (listening in, commenting and recording from a distant location) is the ISDN connection. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network and it provides a constant direct digital connection over telephone lines to a remote studio.
ISDN has two major advantages.
ISDN allows you to send high fidelity (20-20kHz) audio signals from your studio to the remote studio. This allows you to speak into your microphone while the remote studio receives your signal at high quality in their studio. The producer, director and engineer can hear your performance clearly on their monitor speakers as though you were in the other room, so they can hear the subtlety of your performance and catch any stumbles in your performance. More importantly, since the signal is high fidelity, it can be recorded on the remote studio's recording equipment and used immediately. Back in the day, this eliminated the need to send tapes recorded at your studio via overnight express in order to deliver your performance to the distant studio.
The director can also speak to you over a phone quality line to give you performance notes and you hear this direction in your headphones as if s/he were in the control room next door. You can speak back to the director through your mic.
So ISDN has two benefits: High fidelity sound quality for remote monitoring and recording. And real-time delivery through the ability to record this high fidelity sound in the remote location.
So why shouldn't all voice over talents run right out and get ISDN?
One issue is cost. ISDN can cost several hundred dollars to install and set up and there is also a monthly charge for the line of about $60.00. You also need an ISDN CODEC. This is a box that receives the analog signal from your mixing board and converts it to the digital signals that are sent over the ISDN line. This codec can cost around $5000.00. So unless you're doing enough high-end jobs that require ISDN you may never recoup your investment.
And remember, the receiving studio needs an ISDN line and codec as well. It is useless to supply ISDN service to your client if they don't have access to an ISDN studio on their end. Renting an ISDN studio can cost up to $250.00 an hour.
Also, as broadband internet becomes universal, the recording process is changing. You now record your jobs as digital files, not a 1/4 inch tape. So the second and more important benefit of ISDN--real-time remote delivery--has disappeared. You can now record your work in high fidelity on your computer and upload those files to a client's server in a matter of minutes.
ISDN allows two way communication with a remote voice director.
ISDN still does allow two way communication with a voice director in a remote studio. But this communication can also be achieved with the use of a PHONE PATCH, which is a much simpler and more universal means of communication with the client for simply receiving direction. However a phone patch transmits and receives telephone quality audio which is not high fidelity. You should pay close attention to your own recordings and performance to assure they are high quality and to catch mistakes that the client might not hear over the phone.
I have found that ISDN is requested mostly by "media" companies. Companies that produce movie trailers or TV promos, or companies that produce material for broadcast--live interviews, syndicated programs and so forth. Perhaps in the future, casting companies and voice over agents may require it but many of them haven't caught up with the new world of talent with home studios.
The moral of the ISDN story
So what's the moral of the story? Hold off on installing ISDN capability until a pressing need--and the corresponding ability to pay for it-- arises. For now, stick to a phone patch.

Using a Phone Patch in Your Voice Over Home Recording Studio

 How will a Phone Patch enhance your voice over job opportunities?
The latest trend in voice overs is to have your own home studio. This allows you to work from home and to accept work from anyone in the world. Often the scripts are sent to you via email and you interpret the script, record it, and return the finished files to the client. However this process requires that you fully understand the requirements of your client so that you can direct your own performance. But what if the clients wants to listen in and direct you as you record? This adds another layer of complexity to your studio setup so you can supply this capability with your studio gear. An easy and inexpensive way of doing this is with a Phone Patch.
A Phone Patch allows two way communication with the client
A Phone Patch is a electronic box that allows you to connect your mixer or digital audio interface to standard telephone lines. When you talk into your microphone the mic signal is routed to the telephone as if you are speaking into a telephone receiver. And when the client speaks, their voice is routed into your headphones. Also, when properly set up, you can play back recorded tracks for the client and they can hear that as well. Overall the experience feels like you're in a studio with the client in the control room speaking over the "talkback" mic.
Allowing instant adjustment and correction of your performance gives you a much higher probability that the client will be satisfied with the end results. This reduces the need for retakes or pickups at a later date and makes the entire recording process more efficient and quicker.
You should add Phone Patch capability to your studio
Today's voice over market includes online casting. This gives you the opportunity to perform for clients all over the world. And you want these clients to feel as comfortable hiring you as the talent who lives down the street. Directing with a phone patch session will make them feel just like they're in the next room. They will experience your personality. They'll be able to judge your response to direction. You can solve pronunciation questions immediately. You can even chat about the weather or the Yankees chances this year. Remember building rapport with the client is an important part of voice over marketing. We all want to work with someone we like.
Analog and digital hybrids
The actual box that you buy to create a phone patch system is called a "hybrid." There are two types. The older version is analog and passive, meaning it doesn't require a power supply. The newer versions are digital and need power to operate. There are two benefits to the digital version. One is much greater separation of incoming signal from the outgoing signal. A regular phone needs to lower the incoming voice so it doesn't feedback into the outgoing signal. Callers don't want to hear their own voice coming back or worse a loud feedback whine. A digital hybrid can lower (attenuate) the signal by 50 dB. The second advantage is, since the unit is powered, you can supply gain to the signals. That means if you can't hear them or they can't hear you, you can turn the volume up. The analog hybrid does mix a bit of the two signals together but still provides 20dB of attenuation. And usually the phone signals are adequate so yo don't have to turn anything up. Also if you're using a mixer you can supply some gain with the mixer.
Hooking it all up
I can't go into specifics for each piece of hardware and recording software but you will need a mixing board or a separate audio interface to hook up the hybrid. Most of the audio interfaces have "virtual" mixing capabilities which you can access from your recording software. So here's the secret to hooking it up.
The hybrid has a phone connector--the typical "phone jack"-- on the back to plug the phone line into. (You can also plug a regular phone into an additional jack so you can use the phone line as a regular phone.)
The hybrid also has a "line in" connector to which you supply signals that you want to go down the telephone line to the client. And it has a "line out" connector which supplies your mixer with the telephone signal from the caller.
There are five different signals that you will have in a typical session:
1. Your Microphone in--plugged into the mixer providing your voice to the recording software and to the clients telephone
2. The Playback Tracks in--routed into the mixer so you can play back the recorded tracks and hear them in your headphones and have the client hear them on their phone.
3. The client's voice in--coming from the telephone line via the hybrid's "line out" into the mixer.
4.The signal out of the mixer to your headphones
5. The signal out of the mixer back via the hybrid's "line in" to the client's phone for them to hear.
To achieve this you need to create a "mix" of signals for your headphones and a "mix minus one" signal that goes out to the telephone as follows:
Mix of inputs to you headphones:
1. Your Microphone
2. The Playback
3. The Client's voice on the phone
Mix of inputs to the telephone via the hybrid.
1. Your Microphone
2. The Playback
Exactly how you do this is specific to your hardware and software but this gives you the outline of what you're trying to achieve. The important point to note is you DON'T want the clients voice going back out to the telephone (hence the "minus one".) This will create the dreaded feedback loop.
I've been doing mixing for years and this still makes me scratch my head. It's best to write it down and diagram it on a piece of paper. And save the paper so you don't have to decipher it again at a later date!
If you don't have an audio interface or mixer--other phone patch alternatives
Suppose you have a really simple recording system. Just your trusty USB mic and your laptop. Without the mixer or interface you cant use the telephone hybrid but there are other alternatives that can work almost as well. Remember the goal is for the client to hear you when you talk and for you to hear the client give direction. Here are some other ways to do this.
A wireless portable phone and a headset. I used this for years. The portable phone is connected to your landline (or VoIP phone such as a cable phone, Vonage, or even the remarkable MagicJack.) You then plug a headset into the receiver and clip it to your belt. Put the headset on and put your headphones over it. Voila! The client can hear you talk and you can hear them direct.
The same set-up with a cell phone. Simpler cell phones have a headset jack. Newer phones may need an adapter to use a headset but the principle is the same. A similar result can be achieved with a bluetooth hands-free device but I think the audio quality really degrades between the bluetooth and the cell phone.
You can use Skype. Skype is like an internet phone. It's free for Skype-to-Skype calls but there may be a charge for phone-to-Skype. With a little time spent in the "preferences" you can have Skype recognize your microphone as the input device and your headphones as the output.
These alternatives all provide the two-way communication you need for a successful voice over session. The only drawback is you can't directly PLAY BACK the track if the client would like to hear it. I used to worry about this but, believe it or not, I've never had a client ask for a playback!
You should have phone patch capability in your voice over studio
Phone patch capability enhances your voice over service. Being directed in a session can speed up the session, provide a more acceptable read, demonstrate you ability to take direction and reduce the need for picks and retakes at a later date. It will also be required for the more sophisticated--and lucrative--jobs. So use one of these methods to add this to your studio and kick your voice over service up to a higher level.

Can Irish Dancing And Panto Be Mixed?

Music and dancing are at the heart of every performance no matter what it is, or how it is intended to affect the audience. However, the performances are structured and two very different styles are not mixed. But, if you are brave enough to combine two strong styles and perform them well, I personally think you are guaranteed a success. The theatre combination of Irish dancing and panto may seem like an unusual mix but if you look at the audiences from either of these shows, you'll rarely find anyone who hasn't enjoyed the performances. Whatever your opinion is on the subject, both these performances are steeped in history and putting them together, you're offering the audience something they have never seen before.
Pantomime is a very traditional English performance that entertains people throughout the Christmas Holiday period. The history surrounding panto dates back over 100 years, and has been entertaining people from all backgrounds since the early days. Children's favourite stories are brought to life through escapism, and humour while also throwing in a few clean jokes for the adults. The audiences are encouraged to join in and help the heroes of the story to outsmart the villains. There is an overall great feeling about the panto, and everyone in the audience will leave feeling refreshed, and happy.
Irish dancing is also very historical, and is often split into two different forms of social dancing and performance art. This style of dancing became very popular in 1994 when "Riverdance" hit the stage proving that this form of dance was very entertaining. There are many different versions of Irish dancing depending on the part of Ireland you are from. Children are taught it from an early age, and at any social event or gathering you will see some children dancing. Irish dancing is very captivating, and people enjoy watching it for the technical side as well as the entertainment value.
With these two completely different forms of entertainment it seems strange to want to combine the two. However, thinking out of the box often provides the best performance of the year. There is no reason why Irish dancing cannot be combined with the entertainment value of pantomime. Both are extremely entertaining to watch and people love to see variety in performances. Although pantos are great they are very predictable and if you can inject a new element into them you will create an amazing show.
The audience will be amazed that you have included a complicated yet mesmerizing dance into the traditional feel of panto. There are no rules when it comes to performing and giving your audience something new and exciting is essential. Theatre and stage performances are all about the stage presence, and combining art forms. Using Irish dancing within Pantomime is a fantastic way to bring a new element to the panto season.
Irish dancing has become very main stream, and many people are getting interested in the dance form. It is not unusual to see the dance being done in schools, and in dance lessons all over the world. Good performers can turn their hand to anything including acting, and dancing. If you have open minded people that want to create something special this panto season, combining Irish dancing and traditional pantomimes is guaranteed to be a great success. You will be able to show that panto actors are versatile, and can give an outstanding performance every time.

Famous Nights Out for London Theatre - Try West End Shows

One London theatre attraction that never fails to draw huge crowds is the West End that is home to some long-running musical and other West End Shows. Tickets to this Theatreland can be quite in demand especially during peak seasons. Below are just some of the famous musicals that you can see at London's West End.
Who doesn't know or at least heard of Les Miserables that is based on the classic novel of the same title by French author Victor Hugo? Les Miserables is actually the longest running show of all time in London's West End. This is one of the huge crowd drawers. Some people have seen Les Miserables twice or even three times and still wouldn't mind watching it again for a couple more. That's simply how popular the musical is. It seems that theater goers just can't get enough of the themes of love and redemption that is wonderfully portrayed by the play. And with beautiful songs such as "Can You Hear the People Sing" and "I Dreamed a Dreamed," it was really destined to become a hit.
Another classic is the Phantom of the Opera that opened only a year after Les Miserables, making it the second longest-running musical at London's West End. It is probably the most well-loved of all Andrew Lloyd Weber creation. Based on Gaston LeRoux's novel, the story's themes of love and obsession is masterfully represented by the blending of opera and rock. "The Point of No Return" and "Masquerade" are just two of the most unforgettable songs from this musical.
If you are looking for a more contemporary musical, then We Will Rock You will definitely be to your liking. Running for eight years already, the show is set 300 years into the future and depicts the life of a young non-conformist named Gallileo and his battle against the corporate Killer Queen. If you are a fan of the British rock band Queen then you will be delighted to know that this show features some of their greatest hits such as "We Are the Champions" and of course "We Will Rock You."
Another modern classic is Mama Mia that is famous not only among Abba fans, but to everyone who can appreciate a good light and funny story. It is about a young, fatherless bride named Sophie who just discovered that her mom dated three men at the time of her conception. For her wedding, she decides to invite all three of her potential dads, turning the story into a series of one amusing scenario after another. And with Abba hits in the score such as "Dancing Queen" and "Mama Mia," this show is simply irresistible.
With all the good theatre showing in London's West End Shows, it is not hard to imagine why it is quite hard to get West End tickets. Online Theatre Tickets outlets are definitely a blessing to theatre lovers. Through these sites, you can order your tickets in advance. No need to join the long ques at London's West End.

Lorgnette Opera Glasses: What Are They?

The term lorgnette is derived from the French words lorgner, meaning to peer at, and lorgne, or to squint. The lorgnette is a pair of spectacles with a handle rather than temples, the part of eyeglasses frames that extends over the ear to be held in place. This article explains in detail what lorgnette opera glasses really are. It all started with George Adams, an Englishman who is credited for inventing these glasses. In the early 1800s, it became high fashion to use eyeglasses with a handle - especially for ladies who didn't want to wear spectacles. These glasses were used more as an accessory or piece of jewelry than for helping the user to see more clearly. The lorgnette glasses were utilized mostly for reading or to see details on stage at the opera.
It made sense to add such a handle to opera glasses for the same reason as the spectacles. One would not choose to wear or hold them up during an entire performance, so to have a pair of lorgnette glasses would enable the user to hold the glasses up to their eyes only when desiring to see more detail in the costumes or facial expressions of the actors or singers. The handle was helpful to for the user to hold the opera glasses up without having to hold their arm as high in the air to do so. Naturally, lorgnette glasses also served as a lovely accessory for the elite at the theatre.
Newer versions of these lorgnettes are available today with telescoping handles that extend the handle to the optimum length for the user. This is done by twisting, extending, and then tightening the opera glasses at the desired length. The handle can also be folded on top of the opera glasses when not in use to make the theater binoculars more compact while not in use.
Opera glasses are compact, lightweight binoculars that are usually equipped with 3x or 5x magnification. This low magnification is used to enable a broad view of the stage while reducing the amount of image shake while handling them. The lorgnette version are only one of the popular styles of available now. Some models come with a red LED light to be able to discreetly read programs without disturbing other patrons. Another popular style of comes with a chain for the user to place around their neck and are enabled to have free hands during the performance. No matter which features you choose, your opera glasses are sure to enhance your theater experience and help to make any seat the best seat.

Tips for Performing Mind Reading Tricks

These tips for performing mind reading tricks should help anyone new to the art of mentalism get off to a pretty good start. There are many misconceptions about this branch of the magical art, so I'd like to start by clearing those up. First of all, despite the necessary mystique surrounding mind reading, it's something anyone can learn with a little practice once they know what the secrets are.
And the second thing that we really need to get clear at the outset is that no one can really read anyone's mind. That's a fact. Mind-reading is a magic trick just like any other magic trick and the techniques used in mind reading are essentially the same as those used in any other form of magic trick. Namely, sleight-of-hand, misdirection, gimmicks, stooges and so on. There are no psychic powers. Anyone who claims to genuinely read minds or have psychic abilities is either a liar or deluded. Mind reading or 'mentalism' as it is popularly known is simply a 'performance persona' for these tricks.
It might seem almost mystical in its effects - and you certainly want it to if you're performing it - but it is just a series of clever psychological techniques and close observations of behaviour and, in all honesty, some simple gimmicks and tricks that have nothing to do with psychology at all, that enable a mentalist to create the illusion of psychic powers.
It is little wonder that all the mind-readers and mentalists that I have ever heard of or met (apart from that wicked phoney Uri Geller - one of the worst magicians I've ever seen) are all debunkers of 'psychism' and the miraculous. Why? Because they know how it's done! Think of James Randi, Penn and Teller and Derren Brown, for example. The truth is that only the most despicable low-life would stoop so low as to take advantage of people's trust and misfortune for their personal profit. Witness any number of TV 'psychics' for examples of this. Okay, rant over. So we know we're dealing with a performance art, not a mystical one and it's just for honest fun, not for taking advantage of the gullible.
So what are these secrets that enable mentalists to apparently understand your secret thoughts, read your mind and even control what you are thinking?
There are three aspects to mental magic: gimmicks, sleight-of-hand and misdirection. I'm afraid that's it. Antone who was looking for psychological secrets for manipulating people thoughts; time to laugh at yourself for being so taken in! The techniques of mentalism are the same as all other magic tricks. Any bluff about NLP and other such stuff is all just part of the act.
So, get some mind-reading tricks tutorials and learn these tricks (video tutorials are an excellent way to get started) and bear in mind these tips for performing mind reading tricks:
1) There's no need for a huge repertoire: 5 decent tricks is plenty. Just choose five good tricks and learn them to perfection.
2) Know Your Character - Mind reading involves a,lot more bluff and misdirection than most magical disciplines because it play-acts at mystical powers; having a strong magical persona or character part can often really help induce the right atmosphere and sense of credulity.
3) Tell a Good Story - This has nothing to do with once upon a time but everything to do with leading your audience up the proverbial garden path! Every mind-reading trick has to have its story, its false premise. It could be that you claim 'conversation with the spirits' or maybe 'focussing mental energy' or as is more acceptable these days (because its pseudo-scientific language sounds more plausible to a modern audience) 'clever psychology' 'muscle reading' or 'neurolinguistic programming'. Whatever nonsense it is, know what it is, beef it up and stick to it. Under that cover, you can switch cards, check the mirror, get the signal from the stooge etc.
4) Only Do It If You Know How- Mind-reading is once again very popular and everyone wants to get on the band wagon. There's plenty of room aboard, just make sure that you know what you're doing. If you don't get the story right, the bluff, well then it's going to look just like any other magic trick (...because it is). It's all in the act.
5) Practice - This follows on from the last tip and is always true: you cannot do enough practice and many professional magicians will tell you that they don't feel happy with a trick until they've performed it hundreds of times!
That said; if you don't want or need to go into that kind of depth, there are other options to get started. There are some cool mind reading and mentalist routines that are powerful and effective and will work just a little practice if you get a good tutorial. Things like spoon-bends, card predictions and 'book test' tricks are excellent places to start. Nothing helps like a good visual demonstration and explanation. That's why increasingly I recommend video downloads as a trick-by-trick method for learning magic. You can see and hear what's going on and get a real handle on the presentation and routine rather than just the trick. You can also rewind, pause and so on as often as you like. If this is an option that interests you, then you might like: Mindbender Book Test, Thought Transmission and Emotion as tricks to get started. These and more are all available from the Video Tutorials page of The Magic Tricks Homepage.
I'm sure you'll find these tips for performing magic tricks useful and if you get yourself some video tutorials you'll be off to a great start. I have to say, that mind-reading really is one of the most enjoyable kinds of magic trick to perform. Enjoy it!

Using "Delete" and "Silence" Audacity Edit Commands for Voice Over Recording

Today's voice over talent is required to have their own home studio. And along with the equipment required, you need recording software to actually record sounds to your computer as digital files. One software program I recommend that works just fine for voice over recording is Audacity. In a job where you're rarely doing more than recording one track of audio it is more than adequate for auditions and jobs. Along with the basic skills of recording, playing back and exporting your audio, you find very quickly that you need some basic editing skills to clean up your performances and finalize your tracks before export. Here are two editing commands that can speed up your production and improve your final product.
The "Delete" and "Silence" editing commands
There are two editing commands in Audacity that you'll find very useful. They are "Delete" and "Silence". You'll find them under the "Edit" heading in the top toolbar. Here's how you use them and some useful applications.
You use these commands by first highlighting the section of your recording that you want to edit. You highlight a section by placing the cursor at the beginning of the required section and "clicking and dragging" to the end of the desired selection. (Click and hold down the click button while you drag the cursor along the soundwave to the end.) If you've done word processing you should be familiar with selecting text this way. By the way you can unselect by clicking anywhere on the waveform. To make sure that you've selected only the sound you want, you can press the play button or the spacebar. Audacity will play only the highlighted sound.
Selecting the editing commands
Now you're ready to select an edit. Let's look at what each command does. "Delete" does what it says--it eliminates the section of audio you have just highlighted and pulls the recording together at that point. Just as in word processing if you Delete a highlighted sentence it disappears and the text below is pulled up.
"Silence" works differently. When you select Silence, the audio that is highlighted is replaced by digital silence but the space where the audio had been remains the same.
In the old world of tape, Delete would be similar to cutting out the section of tape you don't want and pulling the two ends together and splicing them. Silence would be equivalent to erasing that section of tape but leaving the blank erased tape in place.
So to perform and edit you highlight the sound you want to edit, hit the space bar to hear that your selection is, in fact, what you intended, and then select Delete or Silence from the Edit menu. Very quickly you'll realize that this goes much faster if you learn the keyboard shortcuts for these commands. They are Ctrl-K (Command-K on Macs) for Delete and Ctrl-L (Command-L on Macs). (I use Kill and siLence as mnemonics.)
So what are the real-world applications for these commands?
First we'll look at Delete. Imagine you're recording a short script and you stumble on a sentence. You wait a couple seconds and repeat ("pick up") the sentence perfectly and continue to the end of the read. You play it back and hear the bad sentence followed by the good sentence. Here's how to fix it. Highlight the bad sentence from its exact beginning to the exact beginning of the good sentence. Hit the space bar to hear that your selection is accurate. Now select Edit >> Delete from the toolbar or push Ctrl-K (Command-K on Macs) and the bad sentence will vanish as the good sentence is pulled up to replace it.
OK, let's look at Silence. This is useful for eliminating breaths. If you look carefully at the waveform of your performance you see small ovals of sound after phrases or sentences. If you highlight one of these ovals and play it you'll hear that it's most likely a breath. There's always a tiny space around the breath oval because you breath out to talk and you breath in to take a breath. Then you breath out to continue talking. So locate a breath on the waveform--look for the oval at the end of a sentence--and highlight the breath. Once again always hit the spacebar to assure you've selected what you intended to select. Now select Edit >> Silence from the toolbar or push Ctrl-L (Command-L on Macs) and the breath will be replaced with silence but the spacing will remain. (Note that if you used Delete the two sentence would be pulled together which would sound very unnatural.)
Practice and perfect your editing to speed up your auditions and your jobs
These techniques are useful for cleaning up auditions and for supplying "finished tracks" if your client requires that in a job. Learning to do these edits takes some practice but it's like knitting: if you practice, it will become so natural you can do it without thinking. Give it a try and soon you'll be Deleting and Silencing like Joe Pesci in Good Fellas!

If you live in the Los Angeles area you should look into my live Voice Over Classes. For those who live in other ares I also have Online Voice Over Classes which offer the same quality of instruction in a modular, online format

Easiest Magic Tricks - Impress Your Audience With Minimal Practice

First and foremost, I'd say that if you want to learn the easiest magic tricks and impress your audience with minimal practice then the fastest and most effective way to easily learn some very impressive tricks is with downloadable video tutorials. The advantages of these are many:
1. They're cheaper than buying DVDs (which probably have too much information for your needs anyway and can cost over $100) Downloads range from under $5 up to $20.
2. You don't have to wait for the mail to deliver your stuff - you can be watching and learning within minutes.
3. Most downloads teach tricks that you can do without having to spend anymore money on props, special card decks, gimmicks etc.
4. You get to watch a full demonstration of the effect free before you commit - so you know exactly what you're getting.
There are books and articles too, of course, but for your needs that can involve quite a high outlay and apart from the fact that the texts can be quite hard to interpret into action without seeing the trick done, again will have far more information than you need, which is just money down the drain.
So, that's one way of learning some easy but good tricks, quickly and with minimal outlay.
The question is, however, with hundreds of downloads available out there, what kind of tricks should you choose? Well, if your main criteria are that the tricks should be easy and quick to learn but still pack a punch then I'd suggest you go for some simple coin vanishes and productions, card swipes and color changes, book test mind-reading and some kind of penetration magic effect like a coin through a bottle. That sort of thing. Not only are these tricks all very visually impressive, but they also require minimal or no set up and can often be performed impromptu with borrowed objects - no fixed props or gimmicks. That's a great advantage and means that you can perform at least a couple of tricks just like that, when anyone asks you. That is one of the best ways to impress and makes your magic trick look really cool and powerful because you 'just did it' close-up and with preparation.
Just a word to end on which is very important. This article is designed to help you if you want to learn the easiest magic tricks and impress your audience with minimal practice but that does not mean...no practice! Even easy tricks need some practice. So it's only fair that i ge you some advice on how to practice your tricks so that you can have them up and running and working for you i the shortest possible time.
I recommend that you learn more than one trick, ideally three to five. Why? Because, when you've done your first trick people are going to be impressed and I guarantee the first thing they'll do is ask you to do it again or to see another one. Well, never do the same trick twice for the same audience on the same day. They'll catch you out the second time because they'll be trying to and you'll turn a cool moment into a silly moment. So what do you do? You say that you won't show them the same trick because you've got something else they'll enjoy - and you do another! Not being able to follow up on your success can really make a good moment deflate, so make sure you've got at least a couple of follow-ups. After that, I think it's fine to back down without any shame.
Okay, you've selected your download tutorials and you've watched the demonstrations and step-by-step instructions. Here's what you should do next:
1. Watch the demonstration and instructions again a couple of times to be sure you understand it.
2. Go through the motions of the trick very slowly to get everything in the right order and to get a 'feel' for the moves.
3. Keep practicing and slowly speeding up. Don't be put off if you make mistakes - it's part of learning!
4. When you feel comfortable that nine times out of ten you can do the trick smoothly and confidently, then check your moves in a mirror.
5. Practice some more.
6. Think of some 'patter' to go with your trick. Avoid telling the audience what will happen next. Stuff like 'I'm going to make the coin disappear' should be avoided. 'Okay. let's see what I can do with the quarter I borrowed from you. It was your quarter, right? And you just saw me put it in this hand, right? And i haven't touched it since? Okay, watch...' You open your hand and the coin is gone!
7. Practice some more with the patter.
8. Get out there and do the trick!
There are a few places these days where you can get downloadable tutorials but my own recommendation is at the end of this article based on experience I know that it's a trustworthy source with the best quality to price ratio you'll find. If you get really into magic and you want to take it further, then my site The Magic Tricks Homepage is the one-stop place for tons of free advice and information to help the serious budding magician make a start. But if what you want is the easiest magic tricks to impress your audience with minimal practice, then following the advice in this article should get you everything you want.

Ballet Steps Through History

From its advent in the pageantry of the Renaissance period of the 15th century, ballet has become an expression of your soul by dance. During the Renaissance period in Italy, Domenico da Piacenza, a master of the arts, taught nobles and others to perform in the court. These musicians and dancers performed for extravagant events such as weddings. With the introduction of the Ballets de cour, performances showcased dancers with beautiful costumes and voices for song. The art of ballet saw great development in the courts of France in the 16th century, when Catherine de Medici of France married Henry II of Italy. Catherine de Medici helped ballet flourish in France, thus most of the terms have French origin.
In 1581, Le Ballet Comique de la Reine was performed in Paris and told the story of a magical sorceress, Circe, being defeated by King Henry III. This was considered to be the first ballet and was staged by Balthasar de Beaujoyeux. He was an Italian composer, violinist, dancer and choreographer. He worked in the court of Queen Catherine de Medicis.
During the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King) from 1643 to 1715, ballets of the French court thrived. Italian-french composer, Jean Baptiste Lully, and French choreographer, Pierre Beauchamp, created many of these ballets. Beauchamp is credited for documenting the five basic positions of the feet.
L'Académie Royale de Danse was established in 1661 under Louis XIV. Here professional dancing was born in a room of the Louvre. Initially, dancers were men until 1681 when female dancers performed in Le Triomphe de l'Amour.
Ballet began to evolve, in time. Elegant moves were displayed with toe dancing. The lines of the body could be better seen in tutus as opposed to floor length hoop skirts. This was evident in La Sylphide, a romantic ballet danced in Paris in 1832. La Sylphide is the story of a sylph (fairy) and a Scottish farmer named James on his wedding day.
A famous ballet, Giselle, followed in 1841. Giselle is a peasant girl, who becomes a beautiful sylph known as a Wili that dances in the Rhineland forest. The Wilis have met their fate by dying before becoming wed. After midnight, filled with a grudge, the Wilis descend upon human males who may happen into the forest, never to be seen again.
In the latter part of the 19th century, Marius Petipa, chief choreographer of the Imperial Russian Ballet, contributed to the brilliance of the ballet world with The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake (also choreographed with Lev Ivanov of Russia.) The score to these famed story ballets were by Tchaikovsky.
The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet which begins with the celebration of the birth of Princess Aurora. Unfortunate events occur when the King and Queen forget to include the evil fairy Carabosse who in turn casts a spell upon Aurora to die on her sixteenth birthday. The spell was to be invoked after Aurora gets pricked by a pin. The kingdom's fairy of protection, the Lilac Fairy, casts her own spell for Aurora to sleep and awaken 100 years later by the kiss of a Prince. A famed ballet virtuoso of the time, Enrico Cecchetti, danced the parts of Carabosse and the Blue Bird. The Cecchetti method of ballet, named for Enrico Cecchetti, involves strict technical training and the understanding of individual ballet movements to the body as a whole.
Set in medieval Germany, the ballet Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried and his love for the captivating Odette who is a swan by day, gliding in the lake of tears. From midnight to dawn, she lives in her human form. Odette and her companions have fallen under the spell of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The only way to undo the curse is to marry a prince who is pure of heart. Through deception and storms, Von Rothbart tries to maintain his spell. However, his efforts were in vain, foiled by the true love of Prince Siegfried and the swan Odette.
The Nutcracker premiered in 1892. This famed work itself had a journey. Initially, the ballet was based on the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," by E.T.A. Hoffman and later revised by the French writer Alexander Dumas. Ivan Alexandrovitch Vsevolojsky, director of the Imperial Russian Ballet decided to make Dumas' transformation entitled "The Story of a Hazelnut-cracker" to a ballet. Marius Petipa and Pyotr Tchaikovsky again collaborated.
Unfolding at the annual Stahlbaum Christmas Eve party, Clara, a German girl, is given the gift of a nutcracker by her godfather Drosselmeyer. Her brother Fritz breaks the nutcracker which is soon repaired. Yet after the party, a worried Clara sneaks down to check on her beloved nutcracker and falls asleep. Magical dreams come to her of the nutcracker, a mouse king, a prince, and lands of snow and sweets.
In modern times, The Nutcracker was staged with the vision of George Balanchine. As a youth in Russia, Balanchine danced for the State Theater of Opera and Ballet. He also had exceptional knowledge of music having studied at Petrograd Conservatory of Music. With this experience and his genius, he became principal choreographer for the Ballet Russe. He later brought his expectations to the United States in 1933 and revolutionized American Ballet. Under Balanchine, The New York City Ballet Company performed The Nutcracker in 1954. The Nutcracker remains a holiday classic.
Throughout the centuries, ballet has become so refined in music, costumes and movements. Exquisite extensions are showcased from the point of the toe shoe to the aura surrounding the dancer. Ballet steps through history as art.

Atlanta Playwright, Sherry Bell-Bradley, Blossoms in New Career

While lay offs were taking place on March 6, 2009, Sherry Bell-Bradley was working at the firms satellite office just blocks away. Unlike her colleagues, she learned of her faith the next day when she received her termination package in the mail. Instead of waddling in self-pity, Sherry turned to her writing and began constructing the foundation for her comedy murder mystery, Who Killed Uncle Pete? The stage play was an instant success since it first debuted in 2009. Although Sherry could not reveal and ruin the mystery of who actually killed Uncle Pete (you will have to see it yourself) she did, however, agree to discuss the inspiration behind the stage play, future projects she is currently working on, and her most influential writer.
Janet Thomson: Good morning Sherry thank you for taking time to chat with me.
Sherry Bell-Bradley: Good morning Janet and thanks for having me.
JT: Let's get right into it. Who or what is the inspiration behind Who Killed Uncle Pete?
SB: I utilized some family members' nicknames, but the characters do not depict my family. Uncle Pete was formed by listening to family and friends refer to their own family members. I combined those characteristics to form the character Uncle Pete. Nettie, Dulie and Dump: I had been all those women at one point in my life: nave, feisty, or simply tired of dead-end relationships. As far as who inspires me, it's my grandmother, Cleaster McCloud who has since passed.
JT: I understand that this is your first comedic production. When did you get the idea?
SB: For years my writing style geared towards social issues or experiences that I had encountered. I wanted to see if I could change my writing style--I wanted to see if my writing could be comical. It was my turn to host Girls Night Out and I decided to seize the opportunity. I wrote the skit and put it on in my backyard. I invited family and friends. After the party, I thanked everyone for coming, and I told them that the skit was the debut of Who Killed Uncle Pete? - The next day, I began writing to turn the skit into a play.
JT: Why did you decide writing as a career?
SB: I didn't decide - my destiny did. I had been writing since I was about nine years old. I could take 10 spelling words and write a mystery. I even wrote a collection of poems all summer long one year, and I gave the collection to my English teacher, Mrs. Grant.
JT: Sherry not many people understand their purpose in life how fortunate you are to have known so early that writing is your destiny. Now tells us what circumstances lead to your career move from legal secretary to full-time playwright.
SB: I had been in Corporate America in the legal field for years as a legal secretary, administrative assistant -- writing was a hobby. I wrote skits and poetry for the churches I attended. I even had the opportunity to write a play A Promise which focused on physical abuse with the Coleman Jr. High School Drama team performed at the Grenville High School. In January 2009, I started my company Mississippi Magnolia Productions, LLC. In March 2009, I was laid off from my job of 8 1/2 years, without notice. Then on June 7, 2009, I was hit by a car while walking in my sister's yard. The injuries I sustained; torn ligaments in both knees; damaged cartilage; fractured bone and spinal and nerve damage. I experienced short-term memory loss, loss of mobility of my right arm due to a pinched nerve and injuries to my spine. I could only stand or sit for short periods of time. Now mind you, my show was scheduled to debut June 22-23, 2009.
JT: Wow talk about tenacity and determination Sherry. You are very blessed to still be here and to have the momentum to continue with this project. I understand that you had some exciting and interesting circumstances happen while getting this production together, can you talk about those experiences?
SB: Yes, three weeks before my opening show - I can not recall most of the events that led up to the debut because of the medication and the pain, but I do recall we sold out. Although I had my wheelchair on standby, God granted me strength to walk out and thank the fans.
The January Show was organized mostly from the bed because my body ached with pain daily and the only outlet I had was writing - it was therapy. I reviewed the DVD of the rehearsals over and over again, and then I went to work. I made the necessary changes and yet again, the show sold out at the 14th Street Playhouse in January 2010.
On May 15, 2010, we traveled to my hometown in Greenville, Mississippi with a stellar performance at the historical E. E. Bass Cultural Arts Center. Later, we returned to my community at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center in Decatur, Georgia in October 2010 with another successful show. I wasn't released from the doctors until May 2010, the week I was scheduled to travel to Mississippi. For almost a year I wasn't able to work, but my writing kept my spirits up.
JT: Sherry your story is definitely one of inspiration for others, particularly for women entrepreneurs. Where do you get your motivation or inspiration for writing?
SB: Writing is therapy for me. When I am writing it releases stress and it gives me the opportunity to put my thought about certain incidents I have encountered on paper. It is a ministry - here I can offer my testimonies that hopefully, educate, uplift and encourage someone else.
JT: Well your story has definitely encouraged me. What is your goal for Who Killed Uncle Pete?
SB: In the near future, I hope to get investors, take the production on the road and one day see Who Killed Uncle Pete on the marquis at the Fox in Atlanta, Georgia.
JT: You have such drive that I'm sure it will happen. Are you working on any new projects?
SB: I am. There is a sequel to Who Killed Uncle Pete as well as a few other plays I will be working on this year.
JT: When can we expect a book of your memoir?
SB: I can't really say right now. I am so happy writing plays, traveling and putting on productions that I don't know right now.
JT: Who is your favorite writer and why?
SB: Maya Angelou, I have loved her since a child. I purchased and read her collection one book at a time. Me and Mrs. Angelou's novels on a nice sunny day, lying on a blanket in the backyard of my mom's house -- I could escape my life and travel with Mrs. Angelou, experience her life, laugh when she was happy and cry when she experienced hardships. I would write poetry because one day -- I would be as famous as Mrs. Angelou.
JT: Will a DVD be created for purchase in the near future?
SB: Yes, we expect to have Who Killed Uncle Pete available for purchase in 2012.
JT: How can people contact you?
SB: I can be reached at http://mississippimagnolia.net
JT: Sherry thanks so much for sharing your journey, and I wish you continued success.

Want to increase your online visibility? An article or press release is just the tool for gaining more publicity. Weather you are a small business or first time author, using the right marketing component equals more visibility, credibility, exposure, and customers. Janet Thomson help small businesses, entrepreneurs and the creative types increase their online visibility with search engineered optimized press releases. Are you ready for more online exposure? Visit her site at http://www.wordstroker.com and sign up to receive publicity tips, interviews with industry leaders, guest blogger posts and much more.

5 Tips on Card Magic for Beginners

All of the finest card magic books follow a pattern in teaching sleight of hand for beginners. First they teach the terminology and the technical terms to define card sleights.
They start by teaching the different grips or ways to hold the cards. Women and young children have smaller hands therefore they should use bridge size cards.
1. The overhand and false shuffle : This is usually the first sleight taught. You must learn how to control the cards. I personally believe that it is easier and better for the beginner to focus on self-working card magic in the beginning so that they can get some effects that they can perform.
The next thing is the false cuts also known as blind cuts. The glimpse is a good sleight to learn next because sometimes the spectator will ask to shuffle the cards.
Forcing cards is a method for making the spectator select the card that you want them to, even though they believe that it was a free choice.
2. Palming cards: In magician's terminology means to take a card or cards and hold it concealed there without it's presence being suspected by the audience. The principle is an important one in card magic. Many of the finest feats possible depend on it.
The best methods of palming cards are not difficult to do. The reasons that palming is neglected or badly done by cardmen are:
a. Bad misdirection
b. Lack of confidence
The first thing a beginner might say is that their hands are too small, this is usually an excuse for not practicing enough or practicing wrong techniques. If your hands really are too small then use smaller cards as stated earlier like the bridge size.
3. Double-lifts: When used deceptively, naturally and in moderation this fundamental sleight is very useful. Unfortunately any card men do it badly and far too often. We would caution the student first to learn to execute the sleight perfectly and then to use it sparingly and discreetly.
As the name implies, the sleight consist of secretly lifting two cards as one, turning them face downwards again. The cards should be squared together perfectly. They should not be handled like a brick. Make it look natural.
4. The Pass: The first exposition of the principles of card magic was published in 1769 by the french writer Guyot, and it was he who first laid down the dictum that master of the pass is the first requisite of the art of conjuring with cards.
The pass is a very difficult sleight to master. The principal use of the pass is to secretly bring a chosen card from the middle of the pack to the top, or vice versa.
5. Top Change: There is no other sleight in all conjuring with cards which will give you so much pleasure as this. More than any other sleight, it lends itself to proper misdirection, improvisation, the delightful ad-libbing. This is one way to have a lot of fun with cards. This creates more of a battle of wits and so much laughter.. You can really engage your audience with this method.
To exchange one card for another boldly and under the noses of those who watch, without being detected, is a sweet triumph! It is also good entertainment.
This sleight is difficult to perfect and requires a lot of practice,understanding and timing.

Learn How To Be A Better Performer

Imagine yourself standing on a beautifully decorated stage, with all the lights and stuff. And with crowds so large, they have to get up on each other just to see you perform. People are screaming your name, waving banners and posters with pictures of your face printed on them. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, I'm here to tell you that it isn't impossible for you to achieve that vision. With the right passion and constant practice, you're sure to get there. But I'm also here to tell you that when you do get up to that point of your career, there's a huge possibility for you to freeze up and forget your lyrics or displease the crowd because of a poor performance.
A live singing performance is the ultimate test for all the technical skills a singer has learned from all his practice sessions. A singer must possess the right attitude towards performing, as well as inherit important habits that would aid him in his performance.
Here are three things you have to keep in mind if you want to be a good singer and performer:
1.) An amazing voice is useless if you don't possess good articulation and enunciation skills. Singing without pronouncing the lyrics correctly generally kills the whole song. For people who aren't used to singing in different accents, this skill would be a tricky one to learn. Articulation is also important because it enormously affects the tone displacement of your voice, and could also affect the way your voice resonates around your head or chest. There are many exercises on how to develop this skill. One of them is to practice reading aloud. It sounds really basic, but it works.
2.) Loosening up your jaw before every performance is a must. Most singers don't realize how tense their jaws are before they sing, and that could usually result to a disruption in their vocal tones. Remember to always stretch out you jaw muscles before singing.
3.) One of the most important things to get rid of when performing is stage fright. An effective way to eliminate stage fright is to plan out your song before performing so you won't have to stop and think about your next move in the middle of your performance. Experience is also an important factor in performing. As you play at more gigs, you gain more experience and lessen the chances of falling into stage fright.

There are many resources on the web that offer quality singing tips. In order to find the best singing tips and learn expert advice on how to sing, research about the page author's experience as well as his competency in the field of music and singing. This way, you know you are not being deceived into getting a lot from them and yield minimal to no results.

Dancing Lessons

Dancing lessons are fun. The whole purpose of them is to help you have fun and feel great about yourself. There are many styles of dance and many types of lessons that you are able to take for your enjoyment.
Private lessons are where you will get the most out of dancing. You will have the most focus and be able to retain the most knowledge of dance technique and style. You will get the most attention that you can get so you are able to perfect your moves and remember them to the best of your ability.
Group class instructions are a way for you to learn new steps and practice with a partner while you get in shape in a fun friendly atmosphere. It is also a great way to bond with your partner. You will get one on one time with your partner and learn to sync your movements together and grow as a dance couple or maybe even grow closer in general.
Practice sessions are maintenance sessions to keep your style and your moves fresh. You will be able to practice your skills with other students while you have fun and stay fit. Practice sessions usually last for about an hour and it's kind of a freestyle where you can show off your skills or practice new moves that you've learned. It really is a work out.
Wedding lessons are also available. To maximize your wedding experience and truly look like the bell of the ball you will want to be able to dance like one. Having lessons for your special moment is really going to help you with shining the way you should shine at your wedding. You will learn whatever type of dance you would like for your special dance on your special day. Professionals can even help you select the songs for your wedding.
They will help you with general and social dancing, choreography of dance routine custom to fit dress and shoes, private lessons with choreography, rehearsal of the first dance in a social setting, dance custom to fit all wedding locations, they can even have a professional at your wedding to help with the band music or review the first dance. Professionals will help get others involved in social dancing as well. They will focus a whole hour on you during their sessions. They want to make sure you look and feel great about your big day.

The Academy Of Global Performing Artist/Entertainment Content Creator Careers

Global Performing Artists Career/Entertainment Content Creator Career - Exactly What Is It?
Have you ever taken a moment to think about the possibilities? For decades in the last century we're always led to believe that many of the best-loved performers we've had the pleasure to experience here on these shores epitomized the thought of what a true global talent was. Actually, to be more precise the term most often used to describe them is/was "International Superstar". This term has been bandied about quite loosely for some time without anyone who portends to know what it means stepping up to lay out its parameters for average folk. By the way, who are this mysterious cadre of beings laying such lofty accolades out there as if they were dispensing Pez? What are the definitions or standards that set those chosen as deities on earth apart from the rest of us? What extraordinary valuation is applied to their person or ability to entertain accords them this status purportedly recognized throughout he world? And what about those performing arts individuals on the other side of the world that wreak their own havoc as they stride among common folk through metropolitan towns and cities on a casual walk about? Just as important at this time, who out there, in the entire world has come close to filling the gigantic imprint left by the absence of the life or the presence of the world's most arguably famous entertainer ever, Michael Jackson.
And here is where the spat begins. While most would agree with the estimation of Mike's prowess and the assessment of the King of Pop's legacy, there are many who will emphatically plead a case for the crown going to Sinatra, Bing, Hope, Madonna, Celine, Prince or a whole slew of others, including THE King - Elvis Presley (don't forget about Marilyn). While all of these folks are very well-recognized for their endeavors and magnificent achievements, how many reached the level where the likes of Barbara Streisand, Liz Taylor or Michael have hung? Look far and wide into the pop culture of any other country and you will be able to make a case for a dozen or so other prolific icons.
Be that as it may, again I ask who lays out the parameters, rules or standards by which this lofty status is measured? It used to be simple. How much money an individual made or the product he was selling could often be used as justification to award the moniker "international superstar" (or global talent). That line became blurred a bit when publicity and press departments at various media companies began using fuzzy math to fudge the numbers in favor or perpetrating something that wasn't exactly true.
Does the term "Global Performing Talent" imply that the artist is multifaceted, that they possess the skill to manipulate a number of performing arts talents making them some sort of "dynamo" in the entertainment arena?
Perhaps this was true at one point but it seems to suggests why so may performers having tried to cross genres in various fields of entertainment did so unsuccessfully (Jackson is but one of them. Does that preclude him from the title race?). There are those who have accomplished this magnificent feet quite admirably (Barbara Streisand and Frank Sinatra stand tall among their peers in this respect). Add to that another prolific element, the ability to be an outstanding content creator and a very few stand head and shoulders above the rest. Barbara Streisand comes to mind in each category. To aspire to a career reminiscent of hers should be the least a performer today should look forward to if they are to be memorialized, remembered and revered for eon's like Plato (student of Socrates), Archimedes or Galileo. The one or two common threads that run through the lives of all these individuals is science and mathematics, the main basics of modern technological advancements today. Though the application of mathematics in traditional China being architecture and geography, a revolution in physics commenced by Newtonian kinematics in the West and the dawning of the Age of Enlightenment did more to bring together a confluence of events and help shape the beginning of this era of modern technology. Four centuries later, in this the 21st, we find ourselves once again being led into a new dimension and era of life that holds so much promise for the future. With the recognition of what is going on laid squarely at our feet it is time for the worlds societies to grab hold and embrace these changes that scream out a loud roar in our faces everyday, yet we sit complacent and if not complacent unnerved by the events taking place which we think we have no control over. Stop fearing change. Change is good no matter what tact it takes.
The Kenny Beck Academy and Superstarcase association of global entities offers this as the definitive explanation of the "Globalization of performing artists & entertainment content creator careers":
Enter a new existence - a new extension, a new dimension of life. As the ability to perform certain skills in entertainment well undoubtedly lay claim as the judging premise of establishing "superstar criteria", should this be the only test by which the claim should be made valid? Audiences, who grew up depending on the purported wisdom of television program exec's to guide them to certain enclaves of entertainment where they were to be transported to mythical and fabled existences, have been thrown a curve ball now. Technology has entered the fray in a bold new assault in a no-holds barred attempt to dominate the presence, time and attention of all who dare challenge it's ability to control the time/space continuum. How often have you sat down to interact with some new video attraction only to find yourself deeply immersed in its "antics for hours on end without realizing where the time has went. This is a point that I think to many of us are sorely missing when it comes to realizing the gravitational type effect these technically genius devices have on our psyches.
Performing, as the realization of a new dimension we have now entered becomes more prevalent to our reality and we as human beings become more cognizant of its existence portends the creation of something so unimaginably foreign that we may as well have been imbued with its quality by one of the alien masters who purportedly placed us here on earth to begin with. No? Actually, simply by coming to grips with and recognizing that we ARE in this new phase you will place yourself light-years ahead of your peers. You will be afforded the luxury of being one of the most astute individuals able to take advantage of something that others have not even begun to scratch the surface of yet. It happens every 4 or 5 hundred years or so.

Performing Card Tricks - How to Read Someone's Mind

Card Tricks are some of the most popular magic tricks that there are and equally min-reading effects are increasingly popular, so why not combine the two and learn ow to do mind-reading tricks with cards? Not only are you tapping in to the two most popular kinds of trick, but there are some simple card techniques that lend themselves naturally to the performance of mind-reading effects.
So what card tricks techniques lend themselves especially well to mind-reading effects?
Well, first of all let's be clear what a mind-reading effect actually is. It is when a magician appears to 'read' or 'see' the thoughts or an image in the mind of a spectator. Of course, this can't really be done and it has been scientifically demonstrated often enough that people who claim to have 'psychic powers' are either lying or deluded and that all the effects that people experience with them can be easily explained scientifically. That doesn't, sadly, stop it being big business. There's always someone unethical enough to try and make a buck from the gullible or the needy.
Magicians who do mind-reading tricks, however, fall into a different category. Magicians don't pretend that they really have 'psychic powers'. We know it's a trick, we say it's a trick but we all join in as if it was a mystic event for the fun of it. The real techniques behind mind-reading are the same as any other magic trick: misdirection, props, gimmicks, sleight-of-hand, stooges in the audience, smoke and mirrors!
So, what card effects can we use in mind-reading? The three main ones that come immediately to mind are the 'card force', the 'marked or spotted card' and 'the controlled shuffle'. You could also use 'palming', 'switching' and any number of other sleights but to keep it relatively simple, let's just focus on those first three.
A 'card force' is when the magician controls the card that a spectator chooses, seemingly by a free or even random choice. There are many techniques for achieving the force, some of them simple and others more subtle and complex. We won't go into them here but the point is that clearly if the magician can secretly force a card on a spectator then he can very confidently 'predict' what the card is or 'read the mind' of the spectator as they concentrate on the image of the card to seemingly 'divine' what it is. This, simple as it is, can be dressed up with patter and other business to make a very powerful and baffling number of effects of the 'mind-reading' variety. You can learn card force techniques from reputable books, websites and your local magic club.
The 'marked' card technique is also quite straight-forward in principle. The magician allows the spectator a genuine free choice of card but then marks it out in some way, so it can be located again even if he hasn't seen its face value. The card can be inverted, scratched or crimped, for example. Under cover of some misdirection, the kind can then be secretly viewed. Then the magician can go on comfortably to read the spectator's mind in whatever elaborate and acted-up way the trick requires!
The final method we'll look at here is the 'controlled shuffle'. In this technique, the magician allows the spectator a free choice of card and then, as the card is replaced into the pack it is shuffled in to give the impression that it is thoroughly lost in the deck but actually the magician has used the technique to guide the card through the pack to wherever he wants it to be - usually the top or bottom of the deck from which point it can easily be glimpsed and then 'mind read' or predicted.
If you already do some card tricks and are familiar with these techniques then you can start straight away to build mind-reading routines using the skills you already have. If not, then it's worth your while learning this basic card techniques as they'll open up endless possibilities for you and are not difficult to learn with just a little practice. You can learn them from books, other magicians, some websites and, of course, downloadable video tutorials.

Associate's Degree In Acting

An Associate's degree in acting can provide you with the educational start you need to jump-start your career. You don't have to attend a four-year university to get a quality education in acting. You can get the same level of education at a community college. The basics are the most important, so it does not matter if you learn them at a two-year college of a four-year college, just as long as you learn them.
The Associate's degree program is designed to encourage students to develop an appreciation for theatre as well as explore, learn, and apply the necessary skills for the acting profession. It also covers core fundamentals such as acting, improvisation, voice, movement, and dramatic styles. Upon receipt of the Associate's degree, students can make an informed decision as to whether or not to transfer to a four-year theatre program.
The art of acting includes several different elements. Learning character development is a favorite among acting students. That is because it is the component of acting everyone can most identify with, because of film and TV characters that are embedded in our mind. Students learn character development by creating a character with a background, history, personality, and notable traits.
Improvisation can be extremely intimidating for the novice actor. It is a skill that is used in every area of acting. If the actor can master improvisation, he or she has a very good chance of making it as a professional actor. Improvisation requires an actor to be totally dependent upon his or her instinct. This is learned through improvisation games and participation in group discussions.
In acting, the voice is an extension of the character. Therefore, it is imperative that an actor trains his or her voice so that it is expressive and flexible. Students of acting will learn proper projection, diction, and breathing techniques. One of the best and most fun voice activities is the laughing exercise. This is when students are instructed to release several kinds of laughs - natural laughs, belly laughs, silent laughs, etc. - in order to control volume and projection.
Walking and talking comes quite naturally when you are conversing with your best buddy. However, when you are tasked with reciting dialogue and walking a few feet to your mark, it is not so natural. As simple as it sounds, walking and speaking memorized dialogue is a learned skill. It requires a tremendous amount of concentration to merge the two so that both activities appear effortless.
Learning dramatic styles is the meat of acting. Here, students explore whole characters and scenes. This can include learning how to study, interpret, and deliver a monologue. Monologues are performances delivered by a single actor. Because the actor is solely dependent on his or her skills, the performance can be a make it or break it moment. The previously learned principles help in delivering an effective monologue. If the actor can master the dramatic style, monologue, the instructor will typically progress to duo scenes.

All college instructors are different in their approaches to teaching acting, and each one has his or her idea of what is essential for learning the basics of acting. Regardless of the varying training exercises, the all-important basics of acting are fully covered in the Associate of Art program.

Clowns Don't Wear Clown Costumes - They Accessorize!

Clown Costumes vs Clown Accessories for Costumes
If you are looking to dress up as a clown for Halloween or a party, you could buy a clown costume that includes most of what you need for the event. But if you want to create a clown character, if you want your own look and personality to make an event truly special and bring a big smile to everyone in the room, then you need clown accessories.
What are Clown Accessories?
Clown accessories are the many choices you make to assemble a final character. They include clothing, such as shoes, socks, suspenders, buttons, gloves and hats. Clowns pay special attention to their face and so some kind of face painting or clown makeup is essential, along with perhaps a clown nose and a skullcap or wig. And a unique clown personality will add decorative details to complement that clown character. Pins and clown jewelry, special glasses, or props like balloons and magic tricks are other clown accessories to consider.
So many choices! Where to begin?
It might help knowing that there are different 'traditions' or 'types' of clowns that have developed over many decades and even centuries. You can develop a character within one of those traditions, or for the more adventurous, incorporate different elements from across the types.
The Whiteface Clown
As the name implies, a Whiteface clown uses white base face makeup - like that of a classic circus clown. Despite the artificial coloring, whiteface makeup is not meant to hide but rather to accentuate, or in some instances exaggerate, the clown´s facial features.
Female Whiteface clowns generally have one type of costume, but use additional makeup to accent the feminine facial features.
The male Whiteface clown has several varieties. The Classic (European) Whiteface is a jester, with soft shoes, baggy pants, a loose fitting top, a neck ruffle, and a soft pointed hat. A floppy hat or black skullcap can be substituted for the traditional pointed hat.
The Straight Whiteface clown also dresses in baggy clothes, but uses either all-white clothing with a colorful trim, or multi-colored clothing with a contrasting trim and ruff. Typical clown accessories are a skullcap and wig.
The Grotesque or Comedy Whiteface clown often has more exaggerated makeup than the Straight Whiteface to reflect a more buffoonish character, as well as irregular body proportions such as long stilt-legs, a big fanny, etc. Baggy clothing is used, but tailored to highlight these irregular proportions, and is often colorful - or even mismatching. This type of clown often wears gloves and wig among other clown accessories.
The Auguste Clown
The classic Auguste clown may seem at first glance to be closer to the Grotesque Whiteface than the Classic Whiteface, in that the costume is often extravagant, exaggerated and mismatched, sporting bold colors and large prints. Augustes often use oversized or undersized clown accessories, such as a huge bow tie, a tiny hat, enormous glasses, too small pants, or boat-sized shoes. Suspenders and gloves are other important clown accessories. But the overall point about Auguste clowns is that there are few absolute costume "rules," and the character has more leeway as to how to convey the 'zany-ness' of this type. Auguste makeup includes whiteface but may keep partial flesh tones, and otherwise complements the overall 'exaggerated' look with additional, feature-exaggerating makeup.
Female Augustes frequently sport long eyelashes, wear outrageous dresses, and carry purses.
Tramp Clowns
Tramps are the most common of another type of clown, sometimes known as a "Character Clown". Besides Tramps, character clowns can include "Cowboy Clowns", "Rodeo Clowns" and other modern or contemporary types of professionals like policemen or firemen or nurses.
There are different kinds of Tramps, such as "happy, vagabond Hobo" or "sad, down-on-his-luck Tramp", but the costume is the similar for all of them. A heavily patched dark suit or tuxedo, battered shoes, a crumpled derby or top hat (often without the top) and fingerless gloves are the basic costume components. Clown accessories for tramps include brightly colored vests, long dark overcoats with lots of pockets, and walking sticks. Makeup may include white face, and sometimes 'soot' makeup from purported train-travel may be applied to the face as well. (The "Bum" type didn't travel, so would probably not have 'soot' on his face.)
Female Tramps, called Bag Ladies, usually wear sneakers, a frumpy dress, a scarf or cheap costume jewelry, and a kerchief or a floppy hat.
So that´s a start for building your clown personality. Whether you want to be a 'traditional' type of clown, or create a wildly original character, clown accessories are the building blocks for your own clown character. Good luck, and happy Clowning!